My girlfriend want to ask you guys how big of tank does she need for her African cichlids.?

Question

She researched a little bit and said found they they will become 5inches at the most and she only has 2 of them what size of tank do you think is suitable?

Answer 1

There are two kinds of African cichlids - Malawian and Tanganyikan. Both tend to be aggressive. Both prefer higher pHs as well (between 8.0 and 9.0 for the most part).

Malawians will need at least 55-gallons, and that should only house two or three at the most. There are several that will grow up be eight inches or more.

Tanganyikans, for the most part, will stay small - most of them will only grow to be 3-5 inches. For these, a 40-gallon for no more than three should be fine.

Remember to use plenty of plants (fake or real), add some driftwood, and have plenty of rock caves and other hiding spots.

Answer 2

A 20 gallon tank should do, but only keeping 2 African cichlids together is generally not a good idea especially if they are Lake Malawi or Lake Victoria cichlids (they are more aggressive than Lake Tanganyika cichlids). She needs to provide them with many rock caves and places to hide because one fish will become the dominant fish and constantly harass the other. The only time this doesn't happen with cichlids is if they are a breeding pair. For instance, a breeding pair of Brichardi will not usually attack one another.

The more cichlids she has the less aggressive they will be. Again, they will need numerous caves and hiding places because they get very territorial. Depending on the species she has she might want to consider something more like a 29 gallon or larger so that the weaker fish is able to get away from the dominant one.

Answer 3

The rule for freshwater fish, which Cichlids are, is an inch of fish per gallon of water. By that logic a ten gallon tank should be fine, but you have to keep in mind that Cichlids can be very aggressive and territorial. If she plans on just having those two fish, I would go with a twenty gallon tank, preferably the shorter longer version as opposed to the show tank. Make sure to also put larger rocks and decoration type things in the tank so that they can identify their space and not act out against the other. Because of the way that they nest in the gravel, you will want to make sure that anything you put in the tank is weighted down or they will "rearrange" it for you.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Rule of thumb is 1 gallon for each inch of fish in freash water, 2 gallons per inch of fish for saltwater, so if your only going to have 2 in your tank then a 20 gallon is fine, if you want to add more you'll need to increase the size of tank.

Answer 5

I'd say a 20 gallon long should be suitable for their size. I know a guy who keeps convict cichlids in his 20 gallong long tank. Anything larger would be fine too.

Answer 6

first bypass to this internet website to benefit about how a lot of your fashionable fish you could keep in a 29 gallon tank (my fashionable length by technique of how). next , take 0.5 the water from the ten gallon tank and put in the 29. then replace slowly the water taken from the smaller tank. Then gradually replenish the 29 gallon tank (say 5 gallons each and each and every time ) and start up filtration utilising the clear out from the ten. it truly is purely no longer adequate to clear out it purely to assist cycle it. you could also start up the clear out(s) for the 29 even as the point is extreme adequate for it to artwork. very last upload fish. good success!

Answer 7

at least a 30 gallon....

if she wants more..step up to a 55-60

bigger the tank..the easier to maintain too

Answer 8

Prolly a 160 gallon take so they can grow bigger

Answer 9

it really depends on how many she plans on keeping.she can keep about 1 inch of fish per galon of water when they reach adult size.

Answer 10

20 Gallon or a little bigger should do it.